Saturday Six

1. This {goofy} guy was my lunch date yesterday. He got out of school early and I asked him if he wanted to run some errands with me. He agreed to go if lunch was part of the deal. How could I say no? He'll graduate in May so these moments must be seized.

2. Lately, I've cut way way back on my sugar consumption, as in basically none. at all. nada. zip. {i adore sugar so you have no idea how hard this is for me} Know what? I feel SO much better. I realized mid-week that I wasn't having my mid-afternoon slumps. I actually had energy and wasn't crashing at 8pm either despite getting up before 5am almost every day. Sugar is not my friend. I did make some banana muffins yesterday--oh my gosh, so good--which were sweetened with honey {still sugar!} but I didn't eat the whole batch {ha ha} and I didn't crave them the rest of the day. I like the feeling of having energy more than the sugar rush, I think.

3. I've also cut way way way back on social media. I just prefer to live life offline. Ironic that my #4 is about Instagram--ha!

4. One afternoon this week I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and I came across this post from Ellen DeGeneres.

GET OUT! Y'all, I went in every room of my house that has a switch on the wall connected to an outlet and they were all UPSIDE DOWN. Who knew? I certainly didn't.

5. I'm on a quest this weekend to find some fabric to recover some chairs and to pick a paint color for a project I'm working on...it's harder than I thought it would be. I didn't get the "decorator" gene for sure.

6. I can't even believe the crazy warm weather we're having in Colorado this month. I'm grateful I had a day to hike this week and I really really want to squeeze another one in this weekend. Hope you guys are having a beautiful weekend wherever you are!

A Happy List

Happy Thursday, friends. I'm happy today. My husband is back in town after several days away and life is just better when he's here. I do not enjoy solo-parenting and have ginormous respect for my friends who are single moms or whose hubands travel frequently.

Just thought I'd share a list of happy things that I have either been enjoying or have recently discovered!

1. If you're a fan of NBC's Parenthood and you love Christina Braverman (I've only met one person who didn't like that character!) then you need to check out MrsPotter.com Such a fun find on the world wide web!

2. A couple of weeks ago, I made this healthy protein cookie dough. It's actually very good. I only had one kid try it and I didn't tell her what was in it until AFTER she'd eaten it..and had seconds! She liked it! I liked it too! I'll make it again!

3. This commercial makes me laugh every single time I see it. I think it is so funny.

4. Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer. When my oldest daughter started wearing makeup I tried to find her something very natural looking and we landed upon this tinted moisturizer. She bought a tube and loved it, but no longer wears any kind of foundation. I was in her room the other day looking for some nail polish (that she "borrowed" and didn't put back...grrrrrr) and saw her tube and thought I'd give it a try. It's amazing. It's perfect for those days I don't really want to put make-up on but need a little something to just even out my skin and brighten things up. The downside is that it's expensive--more than my normal make-up--but Sarah told me I could have her tube! #winning

5. I got back in my PiYo groove this week and I'd forgotten how much I love that workout!

6. Costa Vida. This restaurant opened last week really close to my house and I've already been twice. It's SO good. I've tried mahi mahi tacos and a taco salad and both were delicious. There's still a couple of things I want to try from the menu so I guess I'll have to keep going back until I'm satisfied. Smile.

That's all the time I've got for today. Peace out, peeps and happy Thursday!

Six on Saturday

1. Good morning! It's Saturday--possibly my favorite day of the week--and I'm still in my pjs in my big, comfy bed drinking my coffee and surfing the world wide web. I don't have many mornings that are slow and leisurely which makes that one of the things I love most about Saturdays.

2. I just realized I didn't post Sarah's Homecoming pictures from last weekend. She went with a big group of friends and had a fun time!

3. John and I went to a poetry gathering last night. I will confess that those kind of things are completely intimidating to me. I'm not the artsy or intellectual type and I find that most people who like poetry are. It was fun though--very Dead Poets Society-ish. Everyone took turns reading poetry in the dark with a flashlight. My husband was pretty much in his element and I was just there for the cultural opportunity and of course for the hors d'ouevres and dessert, which were delicious by the way. And please be impressed that I can spell hors d'ouevres.

4. I found a navy/white gingham shirt, y'all--at GAP and on clearance! It goes with everything and is my new favorite article of clothing. Abbey took this selfie of us the other day and I had it on with a green cardigan--so fun! (I'm a lame selfie taker--don't ever know where the lens is or where to look!)

5. Our kids had yesterday off from school for conferences and Abbey actually had Thursday off as well. She and I took advantage of a rare day together and ran to the Springs and bought materials for her Halloween costume and then grabbed some lunch and ran to the grocery store. She talked my head off and asked some excellent twelve-year-old-girl questions and we had a really sweet day together. I really do love these tween/teen years with my kids. I had no idea I would love this season as much as I do.

6. I probably need to wrap this up. I need to go pick Abbey up from a sleepover and run a few errands and then I have big plans to come home and do laundry and clean out my closet while watching football and making something delicious for dinner then catching up on my DVRd television shows. I haven't had a Saturday like this in such a long while and I am beyond excited about my blissfully boring day ahead. Peace out, peeps!

What diffuses your strength?

A week or so ago we learned that one of two power lines to our house wasn't functioning correctly and was only delivering 30% of its maximum energy to our home. The power box in our yard showed 100% power at the source but the line was faulty and the power was diffusing into the ground.

Interesting, isn't it?

I was sitting in church the day following this discovery and my mind started wandering (sorry, Pastor Tyg) about all the ways that my power, or strength, is diffused. I start every day with full potential but how is that potential diffused? Because if I'm honest, I don't always feel like I function at 100%. Do you?

I started making a list of all the things that diffuse my strength but basically it boils down to one category: DISTRACTION. I'm working so hard right now on a priority statement for my life--a statement of the things that I'm 100% committed to. Anything beyond those few things (and it's really only a few) is non-priority and likely a distraction that is diffusing my strength.

Here are some examples:

iPhone/computer. I could expand on this ad nauseum but I'm not sure I need to because you guys know what a time-suck and distraction our phones and computers are. I do NOT want to be attached to my phone OR my computer and have actually been trying really hard to take one day a week and just stay offline. It's hard--nearly impossible to stay completely offline--but geez Louise, I need a break from the constant state of connectedness.

Drama. How many little situations do we blow totally out of proportion and let consume our time, energy, and thoughts? RUN away from drama and the people who create it. It's a time-suck that diffuses your strength! I'm so not perfect in this area, and have realized that sometimes I'm the one who creates it but I'm trying to be better about realizing it and amending my behavior because any time or attention I give to that stuff takes times and attention away from my priorities!

Runaway thoughts and worry. As with drama, overthinking and worrying about things beyond our control zaps our time and our strength. I love the quote below. Again, I'm not perfect. I worry. I obsess. I overthink and create wild scenarios in my head that aren't even true. My goal is to get to a place that when I find myself consumed by runaway thoughts and worry I will quickly "take my thoughts captive." (2 Corinthians 10:5) I do this, but it's not always quickly; I seem to take the longer, more scenic route before I'm able to reign those thoughts in.

People. It almost feels wrong to say that people are a distraction but sometimes they can be. I'm slowly coming to a place of realizing that I can't be friends with everyone. I WANT to be, but I just can't. For me, I need to invest myself in a few close friends. I know what it feels like to be "over-relationshipped" (is that even a word?) and it's not a place of strength. It's a place where my strength feels diffused because I'm only able to offer a tiny piece of myself and my priorities feel out of whack because I'm making time for other people instead of the people who matter most.

Busy-ness. We all define "busy" differently. For me, busy-ness means extracurricular activities and getting everyone in my family where they need to be while working part-time and keeping a home running smoothly (laundry, meals, housekeeping). ALL those things are good and necessary, and they keep me BUSY but you what? They're all related to my family which is my #1 priority. I think the distraction of busy-ness is more about the extra things I say YES to that take time and attention from my priorities. I used to be the volunteer queen but now I do a lot less of that and choose the things that feel realistic and enjoyable. I dropped out of my Bunco group because I decided I wanted to spend Friday nights with my family. I limit the things I say yes to that require me to be gone in the evenings and we guard our weekends fiercely.

These are just a few examples and I'm certain there are many more. I'm NOT perfect and I don't have all this figured out and my strength still feels diffused in lots of areas but I want to choose well and I want to live a less distracted life so that I can offer my full strength and potential to the things that really matter!

SMP 10.11.14

SMP = Seven Minute Post

I can't even tell you how happy I am it's Saturday. I'm not a fan of over-activity and busy-ness and John and I fight pretty hard against that for our family but the past couple of weeks have been completely nuts. I think we've had something to do or somewhere to be every single night for the past ten days. This is SO not our lifestyle and I've been more than a bit grumpy about it. We've got a few more big things to push through before we see light at the end of the tunnel but I am ready for a nice, quiet night at home!

It's just John and "his girls" at home this weekend. Will is in Winter Park at Crooked Creek Young Life Camp doing a weekend work crew assignment. Sarah has so much going on with Homecoming that it's really feeling more like a Mer, John, and Abbey weekend. I kind of think Abbey likes it. I kind of do too.

SMP 10.8.14

SMP = Seven Minute Post

Good morning! Guess what? Our whole house has electricity again! No more headlamps--hooray! I'm not quite as excited about having a working washer and dryer as I am about having a working television but it's amazing how much laundry piles up in three days with a family of five, so I suppose I need to muster up some enthusiasm and tackle that pile today.

I set my alarm for 4:30AM to wake up and watch the lunar eclipse. My alarm normally goes off at 5AM so it wasn't too much of a stretch and it was totally worth it. It was pretty amazing!

I'm keeping one of my kiddos (the senior) home from school today. He's been fighting a bad cold and I think he just needs a day to rest. Here's a picture from his Homecoming dance last weekend. He had a great time.

Sarah's Homecoming "Event" is this weekend. I'm calling it an event because it spans multiple days and it's completely different with girls--ha! This week is Spirit Week at her high school and yesterday was a Wizard of Oz theme. She put her costume together herself and I though she looked pretty cute. 

Happy Hump Day folks!

Currently ::: October

Current Read: I am sad to say that I'm not reading anything right now. I haven't been making time to read and that's just wrong. I miss it.

Current Playlist: Bethel Music, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, David Crowder Band. Ecclectic, as usual.

Current Color(s): Gray, orange, red. Not together.

Current Food: I kind of threw some ingredients together for lunch the other day and it was so good that it's now become my favorite go-to lunch.

It's artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers (from a jar), kalamata olives, cucumbers, and feta over a bowl of quinoa. I don't even add any seasoning because it's flavorful enough without it.

Current Favorite Favorite: Fall candles, our DVR, NFL Sunday Ticket (got it free for the season when we switched to DirectTV last spring), and a super amazing beauty product that deserves a post of it's very own. Stay tuned for that last one...

Current Addiction: S. Pellegrino sparkling water. And season one of The Black List on Netflix.

Current Wish List: I really want a black/white or navy/white gingham shirt. Anyone know where I should look? I saw some online for $88 and that's a whole lot more than I will spend.

Current Need: I really need to buy a new planner. Mine ends in December and I already have 2015 dates I need to get on the calendar.

Current Triumph: I feel like I'm finally finding a good rhythm in regard to my priorities and my time management and that feels like a triumph!

Current Annoyance: We woke up on Saturday to electricity in only half of our house. Turns out that one of two wires from the power box to our house has deteriorated to the point that it's only functioning at about 30%. An electrician came out Saturday and moved some of our circuits onto the one fully-functioning line until the other could be replaced. My oven, washer, dryer, bedroom/bathroom lights were unable to be re-circuited due to their voltage size so we've been doing what I call "suburban camping". Cooking in a crock-pot. Doing laundry at the laundromat. Wearing a headlamp to the bathroom. Yeah, seriously. And showering in the dark. Fun times. They came and mapped out all the power lines yesterday so they could dig up/replace the old line today. Hopefully this suburban camping life ends soon, which is good because I'm running out of crock-pot ideas and clean underwear.

Current Blessing(s): The (minor) inconveniences we've been living with the past few days make me realize these are first world problems and we are incredibly blessed to have things like heat and unspoiled food and a working coffee-maker and internet. And funds to pay for the repairs. And so so so much more.

Current Outfit: Well, currently I'm still wearing my workout clothes from this morning but I'm going to shower soon and get dressed for the day. I'm thinking jeans and a lightweight cardigan. I think our temps are 60s/70s today--perfect! 

Current Excitement: I am very excited about Trader Joe's opening on Friday in Colorado Springs! It's been a long wait for TJs to arrive in my neck of the woods. I have a list going...AND I have a balance on a TJs gift card. Pretty sure I've never been this excited about grocery shopping before.

Current Project(s): My plate is pretty free of projects right now and I am more than okay with that!

Current plans for the day: Shower. Errands. Lunch with my "church girls" to catch up and do some brainstorming. Carpool. Dinner. And hopefully some Black List before bed. That is if my bedroom has electricity by tonight. Fingers crossed!